Changes
by Lion-Hitch
Summary: Yachiru in a tale of self-discovery in more ways than one. M for Lemons in later chapters. Yachiru x Byakuya. Enjoy !


**Disclaimer: I do not own bleach or any of that shiz. Tite Kubo is the man. ;3**

Yachiru sneezed and giggled at her now-ruffled reflection. She'd been sitting by the coy pond behind her quarters for hours now. Kenpachi had told her to stay put after they'd had one of their arguments.

The laughter died in her throat at the thought. They'd been arguing more and more lately. She wasn't quite sure why; She just knew that when they argued it seemed to release a little bit of the tension she'd been having. She exhaled loudly and wrapped her arms around her knees. Matsumoto and Nanao normally defended her when the arguments got bad, simply telling Kenpachi that the only reason Yachiru was so hostile was due to her newly developing teenage hormones.

It wasn't that Yachiru didn't know what hormones were, she just didn't get why it always came back to that. She saw nothing wrong with the points she made. She was used to having very little things annoy her. Hell, even though Kenny tried to pretend nothing was going on, she understood the whole once-a-month thing so many women go through. She really didn't see how being a teenager made everyone treat her so differently.

She frowned and watched a small silver minnow dart between the roots that stretched into the water. She no longer rode on Kenny's back. Hardly anybody enjoyed her nicknames anymore; Even Baldy and Pretty Boy. If anything, they simply tolerated them. The younger soul-reapers, none of them girls, had simply decided to distance themselves from her. Yachiru went from being one of the boys to being the outcast. She now got into trouble when she smashed through a wall or played only slightly-harmful pranks. Any vile language was frowned upon, as she'd been permitted while young because everyone knows "kids can't help it."

Although her childish antics were no longer tolerated, she wasn't considered an adult either. To her annoyance, the other captains and lieutenants still spoke in simple sentences when addressing her. They should've known better considering how many times she'd bopped Kenpachi or Ichigo for the same thing. She understood probably just as much, if not more, of the politics and procedures than any of the other lieutenants. She still wasn't allowed to go into missions on her own or in a leading position, even though her skill was far above any regular shinigami and she'd mastered her bankai years before. She huffed at the thought of how Captain Hitsuguya had been practically the same age as herself now, about 14, when he'd been admitted.

She'd complained to Matsumoto once and she'd sighed and given Yachiru a forlorn look.

"Sweetheart," she said, "You don't know how hard I had to work to get as far as I did. For a woman in the Soul Society is extremely hard to gain respect. Especially if you're beautiful or fragile looking. They instantly assume that rather than being able to _give_ protection, you're the one in _need_ of protection. I had to practically kick the ass of half the men in the Court Guard Squads before they even considered letting me into the lieutenant position." Yachiru giggled and Matsumoto had smiled and poked her nose lightly.

"You're lucky because Kenpachi took you in from the start and put you into your position as soon as you were able to pick up a sword. He saw the potential in you. Also, you have as much power, if not more, than most lieutenants we currently have, and it's only grown over the years. Yachiru, the only thing holding you back is that sweet smile and girlish figure. You'll always be fighting for respect because of who you are."

Yachiru had been thankful for the advice. She'd always been able to count on Matsumoto to cheer her up. Nanao always had encouraging advice too, but with how much her superior slacked off, she was always buried in paperwork. It wasn't that she didn't want to help Yachiru. She knew that if she asked, Nanao would even stop working to listen to her, but she hated being a bother.

She lost sight of the small silver fish and moved her gaze to watch one of the slow-moving red coy fish. Its movements were graceful but it darted quickly to the side when a larger white fish brushed up against its side. Yachiru narrowed her eyes and shifted her arms uncomfortably. Occasionally, one of the boys she used to play with put his arm around her shoulder or whisper something perverse. She always responded much in the way the Red-Fish had responded to the White… She found an excuse to leave before they said or did more. She ran.

She wasn't stupid. She knew she looked far from she had only years before. She'd grown taller and her hips had developed a slight curve and her breasts were already two-thirds the size of Matsumoto's. Her hair was a thick-straight bubblegum pink and was a small way past her shoulders. Her eyes were still bright and the pink in her cheeks had lightened slightly, only making her soft skin appear smoother.

One particular evening stood out from the rest. She'd been walking back to her quarters from the outskirts of the Soul-Society where she'd gone to train.

**I have more written and qutie a bit edited, but this was the version I had in my Flash-Drive-Bracelet...More Coming soon. Review and tell me how the writing is so far? Please and Thank you. ;3 Meow.**


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